Upgrade UNEP

Mwai Kibaki has urged African leaders to join hands in pushing for the upgrading of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) into a fully fledged World Environment Organization to be based in Nairobi .

Speaking Tuesday in Addis Ababa during the African Summit of the Group of Ten on Climate Change, President Kibaki said the severity of the environmental catastrophe and related challenges in Africa justifies the enhancement of the capacity of the UNEP.

"It is my view that patents of environmentally friendly technologies should be readily available through the United Nations Environment Programme and be made accessible for development oriented applications by developing nations," President Kibaki said.

The African Group of Ten Summit on Climate Change, hosted under the auspices of the African Union Commission, is a follow-up of earlier meetings in Algiers in May and Sirte , Libya in July this year.

President Kibaki, at the same time, called on African countries to present new initiatives aimed at enhancing global dialogue and support for environmental solutions for the good of humanity, adding that this should include equitable governance structures.

Expressing hope that the Addis Summit will consolidate Africa's position, the President emphasized that Africa 's priorities for sustainable development,poverty reduction and attainment of the Millennium Development Goalsmust guide its engagement in the negotiations at the Copenhagen Climate Change conference.

President Kibaki reiterated that Africa must talk with one voice to ensure continued commitment and support to the Kyoto Protocol as the only legal and political basis for dealing with devastating effects of climatic change.

"We recognize that the Kyoto Protocol will enable African countries have access to adequate and predictable financial resources. These resources are required to prevent damage to the environment on the continent," President Kibaki said.

The President pointed out that access to adequate and predictable financial resources would help redress the damage already done through global warming as a result of excessive carbon emissions in the industrial world.

Consequently, President Kibaki said African countries must go to the Copenhagen negotiations with clearly articulated and budgeted programs and projects to help the continent meet its climate change mitigation and adaptation obligations.

He said during the Copenhagen meeting, Africa must demand thatindustrial countries meet their carbon reduction targets within specified timeframe.

The President said Africa must advocate for developing countries to demonstrate their determination to institute adequate mitigation interventions in favour of safer and cleaner environmental conditions.

The Head of State said the main polluters must assume their moral obligations to significantly scale-up financial and technological resources in support of the least environmental polluters on the globe, including Africa .

President Kibaki reaffirmed Kenya 's support to the key elements of the African common political position on Climate Change, saying the country is committed to the aspirations of the Conference of African Heads of State and Governments on Climate Change.


Said President Kibaki: "As we prepare for the forthcoming landmark Copenhagen Conference, I wish to restate that, Kenya supports representation of Africa's position by one delegation at the highest level possible. The delegation should be charged with the responsibilities of negotiating the African position on behalf of the continent."

In his address during the opening of the summit, Ethiopian Prime MinisterMeles Zenawi thanked President Kibaki and Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni for attending the meeting, saying their attendance proved their commitment to combating environmental degradation in the continent.

Noting that Africa contributed virtually nothing to global warming yet it was hit hardest by its effects, Prime Minister Zenawi said the continent must insist on a binding political agreement on climate change.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister added that it was necessary for Africa to speak with one voice and engage in a constructive manner.

"It is high time that the Group of Ten which has been mandated by AU on behalf of Africa got together to finalize the continent's position on the upcoming negotiations with a view to contributing towards the success of a meaningful agreement in Copenhagen," Prime Minster Zenawi said.

Other speakers included President Museveni, African Union Commission Chairman Dr. Jean Ping and AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture Mrs. Rhoda Tumusiime.

The Kenya delegation at the summit included ministers John Michuki, Moses Wetang'ula, Dr. Noah Wekesa and Yussuf Haji and Assistant Minister Orwa Ojode among others.